Sony Ericsson sees Q3 profit, less profitable Q4

LONDON (CBS.MW) -- Sony
SNE, +1.52%
and Ericsson
ericyse:000010865
on Wednesday said their joint mobile phone venture, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, swung to a profitable third quarter and sported an increase in sales in third quarter, as market acceptance of camera phones, supply chain improvements, and increased operating efficiency helped the JV. Sales were up 50 percent year-on-year to 1.305 billion euros, and a 42 percent increase in units shipped to 7.1 million. Pre-tax profits were 39 million euros, against a loss of 116 million, with Sony Ericsson attributing the profitability to strong performance in Japanese business and the continued success of certain products in GSM. Sony Ericsson said volume and sales are expected to continue to grow during the fourth quarter, but due to an increased proportion of lower priced models in the product mix, it anticipates that it may be difficult to sustain the current level of profitability in the next quarter.

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